The Guardian: Latest Football News & Analysis (RSS)

Hamano strikes as Chelsea open WSL season with win over Manchester City

A new season, a new opposing manager, new signings, but the same old story: a Chelsea win. Only just, but a win is a win, especially in a tricky opening-night fixture, as Sonia Bompastor’s side embark on a quest for the club’s seventh consecutive Women’s Super League title.It saw Andrée Jeglertz lose his first game in charge of Manchester City; Bompastor, by contrast, is still yet to lose a league fixture in English football and Chelsea remain unbeaten in the WSL since May 2024, a run of 26 league games. Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 21:00:32 GMT

McTominay and Dykes denied as Scotland earn deserved draw in Denmark

A penny for the thoughts of Christian Eriksen. Denmark could justify leaving the 33-year-old out of their squad for the meetings with Scotland and Greece on the basis he remains unemployed. Yet as the hosts huffed, puffed and failed to unpick a magnificently drilled Scotland defence, the issue of what Eriksen could have contributed was such an obvious one. Denmark in this form will not play at next summer’s World Cup.Steve Clarke’s Scotland were worthy of their point. But for a lack of composure in front of goal, they would have departed Copenhagen with all three. The winners from this opening..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 20:54:56 GMT

World Cup qualifying: Mbappé sees off Ukraine as Gattuso’s Italy find form

Olise also on scoresheet for Les Bleus in WroclawSesko sets up late leveller for Slovenia against SwedenFrance struck early through Michael Olise and sealed the points with a late Kylian Mbappé breakaway to open their World Cup qualifying campaign with a 2-0 victory over Ukraine in Wroclaw, Poland.Mbappé’s 82nd-minute strike, set up by his Real Madrid teammate Aurélien Tchouaméni at the end of a rapid counter attack, took the forward to 51 international goals, drawing him level with Thierry Henry in second place on France’s all-time scoring list behind Olivier Giroud, who has scored 57. Olise..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 22:12:49 GMT

Tuchel frees England from tactical uncertainty to create clearing for fire

Head coach steps back from tactical tinkering, as a smaller squad prioritises intensity against Andorra on SaturdayFor Thomas Tuchel, the fundamentals will never change, the ones that he outlined when he breezed into the England job on a one-man wave of positivity and excitement. The head coach regards it as essential that his team play with the passion of the Premier League; as a band of brothers, high-fiving, encouraging, selfless.It is about energy and intensity; after a ball loss, for example. Tracking back. They must enjoy the freedom to express themselves. Harry Kane can drop off a bit f..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 18:00:29 GMT

Dan Burn wishes Isak ‘all the best’ but glad Newcastle transfer saga is over

‘I understand why our fans were frustrated’Isak joined Liverpool for British record £125mDan Burn has said he remains friends with Alexander Isak and wishes him well after the most controversial transfer saga of the summer ended with the striker leaving Newcastle for Liverpool for a British record fee of £125m.Although Isak has few allies left on Tyneside after forcing his way out of St James’ Park, Burn is keen to move on from a testing transfer window and said that he is not as upset as supporters who feel betrayed by the Sweden international’s behaviour. Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 22:37:07 GMT

London City Lionesses break women’s football transfer record with £1.43m Geyoro signing

France midfielder Grace Geyoro joins WSL club from PSGManchester United manager Skinner says fee is ‘crazy’London City Lionesses have broken the world record for a women’s football transfer by signing the France midfielder Grace Geyoro from Paris Saint-Germain for €1.65m (£1.43m), the Guardian understands.The deal is believed to have gone to the wire on Thursday but was completed before the Women’s Super League’s transfer window closed at 11pm BST and the 28-year-old has become the third player to break the world record in the women’s game in less than two months. Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 08:24:50 GMT

Arsenal’s Beth Mead: ‘Chelsea are lethal but we can play better football than them’

After lifting European titles with Arsenal and England this year, forward aims to knock WSL champions off their perchBeth Mead leans back slightly in her seat, the wall behind her displaying iterations of the Arsenal crest through decades of change and says: “It’s a tough club to walk away from.”After a year of gossip, wondering and a summer of speculation, the transfer window has shut and Mead is heading, hungrier than ever, into her ninth full season at the club she joined at 21. Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 14:00:42 GMT

Football Daily | From Wembley 2008 and Bilbao 2025 to AVB and Rivaldo: Levy’s highs and lows

During Tottenham matches in recent and not-so-recent years, the name of Dr Tottenham was often on fans’ lips. Rarely in complimentary terms. “I don’t care about [Dr Tottenham], he don’t care about me, all I care about is [Dejan] Kulusevski,” was one such song. After Thursday’s yellow-ticker trembler, all those fans need worry about is when Kulusevki’s knee-knack allows him to return to Spurs’ teams. Did Levy jump or was he pushed? The suggestion from Big Website is the latter, the executive-chairman, Levy’s job title, shunted for a fresh suit structure. Instead of Levy as an all-seeing eye wi..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:17:43 GMT

Dorking fan, 54, answers call to play in goal as club wrestles with injury crisis

Terry Dunn to face AFC Totton after 28 years in retirement‘Playing in goal is like riding a bike – you never forget it’Fifty-four-year-old Terry Dunn’s leisurely Saturday lie-in and afternoon trip to watch his beloved Dorking Wanderers has been scrapped this week. Instead of cheering the National League South side on from behind the goal against AFC Totton, he has answered the Surrey club’s emergency call and will put his well-worn goalkeeping gloves back on after 28 years in retirement and take his place between the sticks.Dunn, whose former clubs include the now extinct North Holmwood and wh..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 08:24:28 GMT

Women’s transfer window summer 2025: all deals from world’s top six leagues

Every deal in the NWSL, WSL, Liga F, Frauen-Bundesliga, Première Ligue and Serie A Femminile as well as a club-by-club guideMen’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves Continue reading.....

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 11:32:26 GMT

Men’s transfer window summer 2025: all deals from Europe’s top five leagues

All the latest Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Ligue 1 and Serie A deals and a club-by-club guideWomen’s transfers summer 2025: all the moves Continue reading.....

Sat, 30 Aug 2025 18:04:23 GMT

From Birmingham to Sunderland, which teams are set for WSL2 title tilt?

England’s rebranded second tier begins on Friday and our club-by-club guide features all the pre-season newsLast season: 2nd. Predicted finish: 2nd After missing out on promotion on the final day of last season, finishing two points behind London City Lionesses, Birmingham looked virtually WSL-ready on and off the pitch but were the victims of the old format’s lone promotion spot. Under Amy Merricks, they had the best defensive record in the division but too many draws ultimately cost Birmingham dearly. With a second automatic promotion spot up for grabs – and one playoff spot too – they shou..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:00:17 GMT

Georgia Stanway: ‘If England win the World Cup I’ll happily retire – that’s all my dreams’

Lionesses and Bayern Munich midfielder on ‘stressful’ Euro 2025 success, ‘world-class’ Sarina Wiegman and online abuse suffered by playersGeorgia Stanway has more than 100 tiny tattoos inked into her skin and, stretching out her arms to show me some of them, she reveals that since helping England win a second consecutive Euros at the heart of their midfield this summer, “I’ve probably had about 10 new ones. Sometimes, I’ll be sat in the living room and say: ‘Ah, let’s just go to the studio.’”The numbers 19:32 stand out in blue on one arm and she says: “That’s the time the final whistle blew wh..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 07:00:17 GMT

Your Guardian sport weekend: WSL kick-off, an England double-header and more

Here’s how to follow along with our coverage – the finest writing and up-to-the-minute reports Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 16:15:08 GMT

Women’s Super League 2025-26 previews No 12: West Ham

Shekiera Martinez is primed to be integral once again as the club close in on more investment to catch up with their rivalsGuardian writers’ predicted position: 11th (NB: this is not necessarily Sophie Downey’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 9th Continue reading.....

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 23:01:07 GMT

Women’s Super League 2025-26 previews No 11: Tottenham

Spurs will look to bounce back after a disappointing 2024-25 campaign and have brought in Martin Ho as their new managerGuardian writers’ predicted position: 10th (NB: this is not necessarily Suzanne Wrack’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 11th Continue reading.....

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 23:01:35 GMT

Women’s Super League 2025-26 previews No 10: Manchester United

Third-place WSL finish will be hard to repeat but Champions League group stages are in reach and Fridolina Rolfö is an eye-catching signingGuardian writers’ predicted position: 4th (NB: this is not necessarily Tom Garry’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 3rd Continue reading.....

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 23:01:07 GMT

Women’s Super League 2025-26 previews No 9: Manchester City

New head coach Andrée Jeglertz will be expected to return City to Europe after they missed out on the Women’s Champions League last seasonGuardian writers’ predicted position: 3rd (NB: this is not necessarily Tom Garry’s prediction but the average of our writers’ tips)Last season’s position: 4th Continue reading.....

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 23:01:21 GMT

Daniel Levy was a loyal custodian of Spurs who knew his job was to protect the club | David Pleat

Many supporters regard winning as the only thing that matters but the fan on the street doesn’t understand the intricacies of running a clubWhen Daniel Levy took over as Tottenham’s chair in 2001 I was introduced to him by Alan Sugar and promised that, as director of football, I would help him get his feet under the table as quickly as possible. The club he leaves behind almost 25 years later is one many players from around the world would love to be part of.Daniel very swiftly understood the difficulties of running a big football organisation with so much emotion attached. He had to parry a g..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 15:35:11 GMT

‘Definitely English’ Anderson relishes new chapter after allegiance swap

Midfielder reveals decision behind Scotland snub as he aims to join luminaries who began at Wallsend Boys ClubA sense of pride and achievement should accompany a first call-up to a senior national team yet it planted a seed of doubt in Elliot Anderson. Two years on and that seed has borne fruit for England, while adding to Scotland’s regret.It was August 2023 when Anderson was named in the Scotland squad for the first time. An international debut beckoned for the youngster from Whitley Bay, who is eligible to play for Scotland through his grandmother, in the following month’s Euro 2024 qualifi..

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 21:30:06 GMT

Thomas Tuchel says John Stones must stay fit to keep alive World Cup hopes

Defender again out of England squad due to injuryTuchel adds Mason Greenwood ‘not in our thoughts’Thomas Tuchel has thrown John Stones’s hopes of going to the World Cup into doubt after the defender’s latest injury setback forced him to pull out of England’s qualifiers against Andorra and Serbia.Stones is one of the squad’s leading figures but he has been held back by a series of fitness issues during the past 18 months and has not featured for England since last October. Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 18:00:01 GMT

Aston Villa ‘killed’ by spending rules in transfer window, says Ezri Konsa

Club affected by Premier League and Uefa financial fair play‘It’s crazy. We’re going to have to deal with what we’ve got’Ezri Konsa has said that football’s spending regulations “killed” Aston Villa during a difficult summer transfer window. The club, who have started the season badly with one point from three games and no goals scored, were hemmed in by the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules and the equivalent in Uefa competition.Villa paid out one major fee – £30.5m to Nice for Evann Guessand – and made only four further first-team additions, Marco Bizot being followed i..

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 21:30:05 GMT

Kieffer Moore’s first-half strike earns World Cup qualifying win for Wales in Kazakhstan

Kazakhstan, 114th in the Fifa rankings and all in yellow, represented a banana skin on an artificial surface in Astana. Their last World Cup qualifying victory was almost 12 years ago, a narrow success over the Faroe Islands, but this was anything but a straightforward win for Wales.By the end the chances were totting up, Craig Bellamy’s side clinging on with the Kazakhstan substitute Serikzhan Muzhikov cracking the bar with the final action, a 95th-minute free-kick. The visitors were ultimately grateful for Kieffer Moore’s first-half strike, which was sufficient to earn a victory that keeps a..

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:19:35 GMT

Beever-Jones takes her chance to prove she is more than an impact player for Chelsea | Suzanne Wrack

Forward opens the scoring against Manchester City and could dominate her side’s front line this seasonOnce the smoke from the pyrotechnics cleared and the orange WSL-branded carpet was rolled up, as prolific striker Sam Kerr sat on the bench and club record signing, Alyssa Thompson, in the stands, it was the academy graduate Aggie Beever-Jones who stood by the centre circle ready to lead the line for Chelsea as they kickstarted the new season against Manchester City. That it was the 22-year-old forward who opened Blues’ account on Friday night was fitting. This is home.For all the hype about K..

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 21:06:35 GMT

Steely and strangely divisive, Michael Bradley’s playing career cut to the id of US soccer fandom

US Soccer will belatedly honor one of its most accomplished players on Saturday – as good a time as any to re-assess his groundbreaking careerIn a sense, the real surprise isn’t that it took almost six years for Michael Bradley to get his flowers for his long and laureled United States men’s national team career. It’s that he agreed to receive them at all.That sort of thing is, after all, extremely un-Michael Bradley. Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 09:00:19 GMT

World Cup’s dynamic pricing model lays bare Fifa’s singular motive: profit, at all costs

At one point not long ago, the world governing body at least tried to look like it cared about growing the game worldwide. Not any moreIf there’s the tiniest sliver of an upside to the latest news about ticketing for the 2026 World Cup, it’s that we can finally dispense with the pretense that Fifa is interested in growing the game any more.Fifa confirmed on Wednesday that it will, for the first time, use a dynamic ticket pricing model for the tournament, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. While tickets will initially range from $60 for the cheap seats in some grou..

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:00:50 GMT

From fast risers to fallen giants: World Cup 2026 qualifiers to watch

Bolivia, Peru, struggling Nigeria and flagging Italy face an uphill struggle, but others have reason for optimismThere are only three automatic places available via the Concacaf World Cup qualifiers because the USA, Mexico and Canada have secured their spots as hosts, although the two best runners-up head into the inter-confederation playoffs. Suriname have made it to the final round of qualifying only once before and will be hoping to kick off their campaign with a victory when they host Panama in Paramaribo on Thursday. Managed by the former Netherlands goalkeeper Stanley Menzo, they have be..

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 07:00:48 GMT

Manchester City need time to adapt to Pep Guardiola’s ambitious overhaul

The manager has been bold – £320m of new players, a new assistant and new tactics – but fans will have to be patientBy WhoScoredFew clubs embody ambition quite like Manchester City. They have won 18 trophies in nine years under Pep Guardiola but, for just the second time in his tenure, they finished last season without one. Given that City had won the previous four Premier League titles, it was easy to downplay it as a mere stumble, a season disrupted by injuries and a cloud of legal issues.They have responded by investing £320m in the squad in 2025 – including a staggering £180m in the Januar..

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 15:13:21 GMT

Ruben Loftus-Cheek ‘at peace with the past’ and savouring England comeback

The former Chelsea midfielder has been on a long, gruelling journey, but he has earned a long-awaited international recallRuben Loftus-Cheek was riding high. The 2018‑19 season had been very good for him. The midfielder scored 10 goals for Chelsea and there was one game to come: the Europa League final against Arsenal. Beyond that, he had an eye on the Nations League finals with England and the chance to add to his 10 caps. Four of them had come at the 2018 World Cup in Russia; memories that will never fade. He was only 23. He was about to take the next step. And then it all fell apart.Loftus-..

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 21:30:33 GMT

The soundtrack of the women’s Euros was happiness … and some men can’t cope | Barney Ronay

Familiar tones of rage, pain and betrayal that envelop men’s football were missing during England’s joyful run to glory“You can’t stand their voices? ALL women’s voices?” “Yes.” “Are you married to a woman?” “I am. And she feels the same.” Hmm. To be fair to Dave from Egham, whose name has been changed to protect the confused, the whole setup here was pretty bleak. It was Dave’s destiny a week on from England’s victory at Euro 2025 to find himself going viral after an appearance on LBC radio.In the clip Dave objects to the sound of all women’s voices, even if they’re Adele or Billie Holiday. S..

Sat, 02 Aug 2025 07:01:04 GMT

We owe it to the Lionesses to invest in women’s football and realise its potential | Kelly Simmons

Its young, diverse and passionate fanbase offers a huge opportunity, but too many clubs are only scratching the surfaceThe Lionesses are simply the most successful England football team in history, winning back-to-back European Championships and becoming the first England senior team to win a major tournament on foreign soil. It is an incredible achievement and one that will reverberate through the women’s game for many years to come.The head coach, Sarina Wiegman, is simply world class; it’s an overused phrase but absolutely fitting in this case. To reach five major finals in a row (incl..

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 07:00:03 GMT

Jess Carter admits ‘almost relief’ white England players missed in Sweden shootout

Carter feared Lauren James would face similar abuse‘It’s about knowing how it’s going to be if we miss’Jess Carter has said she was relieved when three of her white England teammates joined Lauren James in missing penalties in the Euro 2025 quarter-final shootout against Sweden. Carter, who was the target of online racism during the tournament, feared James would be on the receiving end of similar abuse if she had been the only one to miss.Beth Mead, Alex Greenwood and Grace Clinton then missed as well, but the Lionesses progressed before going on to defeat Spain in the final in another shooto..

Tue, 12 Aug 2025 07:31:10 GMT

Euro 2025: our writers hand out their awards from the tournament

Choosing the best matches from Switzerland provokes plenty of debate along with the outstanding players and the pick of the goalsEngland seemed to have lost it once, twice, three times against Sweden on a night of nail-shredding drama that sharpened the sense that destiny had rich bounty in store for Sarina Wiegman’s side. It was also the first match, no doubt of many over the coming years, that made a hero of Michelle Agyemang. Nick Ames Continue reading.....

Tue, 29 Jul 2025 19:00:39 GMT

Messi scores in home farewell for Argentina and remains tight-lipped on World Cup

Argentina captain scores twice in win over VenezuelaUruguay, Colombia and Paraguay grab World Cup spotsLionel Messi made sure he had good memories of playing a home qualifier with Argentina for the last time in his illustrious career.Messi scored twice on Thursday in Argentina’s 3-0 victory over Venezuela in front of a raucous sellout crowd that had gathered at Estadio Monumental to bid him farewell. Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 03:30:39 GMT

Erik ten Hag’s sacking is a brutal end to historic failure at Bayer Leverkusen | Andy Brassell

Captain Robert Andrich bemoaned his team’s ‘misery’ while those upstairs did little to back Xabi Alonso’s successor“You say it best, when you say nothing at all,” was how Ronan Keating put it in a 1999 cover version. Whether Erik ten Hag will choose to get over his latest breakup with a tub of ice-cream in front of a rewatch of Notting Hill is open to conjecture but if he did, lyrics dotted through the film are sure to have an added poignancy.Ten Hag didn’t need telling that in only his second Bundesliga game in charge of Bayer Leverkusen, they and he had a bad afternoon. Going to a diminished..

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 11:31:20 GMT

Jamie Vardy gears up for another underdog story at feelgood minnows Cremonese | Nicky Bandini

Fans sang for the striker to ‘take us to Europe’ as he arrived in Italy to join an unfancied team brimming with positivityJamie Vardy had not reached his destination, but already he was getting a taste of what may await him, a crowd of Cremonese supporters greeting him at the exit of Milan’s Linate airport – 50 miles away from their team’s home town. Never mind the fact it was almost midnight on a Sunday. He hopped out of his car to sign autographs – one over a tattoo of his own face. They sang for him to “take us to Europe”.Even in a summer of famous names making unexpected late-career moves ..

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 12:38:42 GMT

Rayo Vallecano take Barcelona to the edge as fans rebel against their president | Sid Lowe

The small, proud Madrid club are back in Europe this season but playing against a backdrop of a civil warThe drunk, the brainless and the idle enjoyed this. They had said they wouldn’t sing, but the best nights aren’t planned they just happen, and in the end it was their kind of night. Chaotic, wild, a lot wrong but alright, like a picture of who they are, sticking it to the man up here and down there. Packed into crumbling, filthy stands, Rayo Vallecano’s fans didn’t see their team get a deserved victory against Barcelona on Sunday but on a torn-up, dried-out pitch with not much grass, in a g..

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 16:50:30 GMT

Tuchel may scorn politics, but his England team cannot escape their symbolism | Jonathan Liew

As toxic nationalism spills over into our shared spaces, the England shirt is freighted with meaning for better or worseThe crosses of St George are flying all around me. Fair to say the opening line of Three Lions ’98 hits a little differently in 2025. The crosses of St George are being daubed on an Islamic centre in Basildon. The crosses of St George are being used to deface a Chinese takeaway in York. The crosses of St George are draped over men shouting at a three-star hotel from a mini-roundabout. The crosses of St George are retailing for about £2.36 on Temu, depending on whether you wan..

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 20:00:31 GMT

Guéhi’s cancelled Liverpool move puts heat on Palace to keep Glasner happy | Ed Aarons

Defender should still end up at Anfield despite deadline drama, but the manager’s hardline stance may worry the club board“Marc and me, we have the same fate,” Oliver Glasner said with a smile. It was the eve of Crystal Palace’s meeting with Liverpool in the Community Shield and – not for the last time over the next few weeks – the unavoidable question of his captain’s future had just been broached.Marc Guéhi had entered the final year of his contract at Palace and everyone knew a swift resolution was needed. “Of course, everybody wants Marc to sign a new contract,” said Glasner, who had broke..

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 07:00:17 GMT

Tantrum transfers, hysteria and endless cash – but who won the transfer window? | Barney Ronay

The juggernaut was captured in one three-month tracking shot, but this summer market told us something deeper – about football and the nationBy the time the clock hit 7.30pm the main presenter on Monday’s Sky Sports Window Slam Countdown looked not just frazzled, but oddly heroic, like a man who has ingested a potentially fatal overdose of late-breaking excitement and is now being encouraged to keep talking in a low, dogged voice about massive deals and unexpected snags just to keep himself awake until the paramedics arrive.There was something of the Situation Room about the whole tableau, fiv..

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 19:01:01 GMT

Blockbuster Champions League draw is intriguing but ultimately irrelevant | Jonathan Wilson

Fans will continue to lap up massive games but perhaps the teams involved will conclude they are not that importantLiverpool v Real Madrid! Arsenal v Bayern! Chelsea v Napoli! Madrid v Manchester City! Bayern v Chelsea! Newcastle v Barcelona! Inter v Liverpool! PSG v Bayern! City v Napoli! Madrid v Juventus! Chelsea v Barcelona! It can’t be denied that the Champions League draw threw up some ties that look like massive games.These are games that have massive teams in them. They are happening in a massive competition. There will be famous players in famous kits in famous stadiums. There will be..

Thu, 28 Aug 2025 18:47:01 GMT

David Squires on … after review, this week’s cartoon is a VAR special

Our cartoonist on chaos at Craven Cottage, Nicolas Jackson’s gap year and Howard Webb’s apology muffinsBuy copies of David’s cartoons in our Print ShopDavid’s latest book, Chaos in the Box: buy it now Continue reading.....

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 11:00:33 GMT

Transfer window and deadline day: Premier League club-by-club analysis

We assess how each top-flight side fared in the search for quality and value during the summer windowTransfer interactive: all the deals from across EuropeAndrea Berta’s first transfer window since taking over as sporting director has been busy. Headline moves for Viktor Gyökeres and Eberechi Eze have given Mikel Arteta the firepower and creativity he asked for, while Martín Zubimendi has added class to midfield. The arrival of Cristhian Mosquera, Christian Nørgaard, Noni Madueke and Kepa Arrizabalaga has also added depth to Arsenal’s squad that is already being called on after a series of ear..

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 10:01:01 GMT

‘You always get nervous’: inside deadline day at League One Stockport

Behind the scenes on transfer window’s final day as the Hatters bagged their top target in a loan deal“Can my dog live in the apartment?” Ben Osborn asks Stockport’s first-team scouting operations manager, Dale Hargan. The Derby midfielder is about to undergo a medical before joining the League One side on a season-long loan and there are questions that need to be answered.It is deadline day and Osborn has left his East Midlands home for the prospect of more regular playing time. He will be one of three arrivals at Edgeley Park before the window closes, the end of half a year of planning for S..

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 15:01:01 GMT

How will Arne Slot change his Liverpool tactics to get best out of Alexander Isak? | Jonathan Wilson

Swede is not a classic central striker, but could his signing herald tactical tweaks and what does it mean for Salah?On the face of it, it’s not hard to see why Liverpool would want Alexander Isak. He will not turn 26 until later this month and has scored more than 20 Premier League goals in each of the past two seasons, something matched only by Erling Haaland. But he offers more than just goals; he’s a very modern centre-forward.Thirty or 40 years ago, when 4-4-2 was still the dominant formation, strike pairings tended to come in two forms: either target-man and finisher, or creator and fini..

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:00:55 GMT

Arteta’s stale Starmer-ball is doomed to finish second to those who aim for glory | Barney Ronay

Arsenal’s cautious, cagey, risk-averse approach showed a lack of adventure and they paid the price against LiverpoolYou can get it if you really want. You really can. You can get it. Getting it is a distinct and achievable outcome. There is just one caveat. You do have to actually show some sign of wanting to get it, to throw a little risk to the wind.This seemed to be the catch for Mikel Arteta at Anfield, on a day where for long periods his Arsenal team were in the ascendancy, dishing up a performance that was assured and compact, but also a bit like watching a politician giving a campaign i..

Sun, 31 Aug 2025 21:05:53 GMT

Football Daily | Djed Spence and the long, long, long list of England’s post-Cole left-backs

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Leighton Baines, John Stones, Luke Shaw, Kieran Gibbs, Ryan Bertrand, Danny Rose, Nathaniel Clyne, Aaron Cresswell, Kyle Walker, Ashley Young, Jesse Lingard, Ben Chilwell, Eric Dier, Kieran Trippier, Bukayo Saka, Ainsley Maitland-Niles, Tyrone Mings, Tyrick Mitchell, James Justin, Reece James, Levi Colwill, Fikayo Tomori, Rico Lewis, Joe Gomez, Adam Wharton, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Lewis Hall, Myles Lewis-Skelly. Continue reading.....

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 16:06:23 GMT

Record transfers and a managerial merry-go-round – but can anyone stop Chelsea in the WSL?

The new season starts on Friday with Sonia Bompastor’s side chasing a seventh consecutive title but rivals have hopeAfter a breathless summer that included heart-stopping penalty shootouts, a swath of managerial changes and even the women’s game’s first £1m transfer fee, as the new Women’s Super League season arrives, the million-dollar question is, can anyone stop Chelsea?The defending champions have won six WSL titles in a row and they notched up a record points tally last term to win the championship by their largest margin yet – 12. Ominously for their rivals, they were trying to strengthe..

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 10:58:01 GMT

TV viewing figures for the NWSL are down: is there cause for concern?

Star names have been missing but second half of campaign should bring renewed interest after ratings spike last yearHalfway through the NWSL’s 13th regular season, the league reported TV ratings were trending down. But August has already shown glimmers of recovery and context adds important caveats to that downward slope.As first reported by Sports Business Journal, when the league took a month-long break midway through the year in July, ratings were down by 8% across their multiplatform media partnership. That partnership, which is now in its second year, was signed in November 2023 with CBS,..

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:12:36 GMT

Football Daily | Pafos FC and Kairat Almaty? The Champions League gets a hipster makeover

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!The joy of a Bigger Cup European tour is what makes a season for the fans – the trinket on offer in Budapest is merely a bonus. Six Premier League sides will get to test themselves against the best over the coming months and there are a few new faces in the competition and some intriguing passport stamps to collect. Who wouldn’t want to travel to the Cypriot city of Paphos in September to watch their beloved club play David Luiz’s Pafos FC? The temperature reaches 29C and there is no chance of rain. There are miles and miles of beaches to enjo..

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 15:15:15 GMT

Sports quiz of the week: movie stars, musicians, runners and US presidents

Have you been following the big stories in football, rugby union, athletics, boxing, golf and rugby league? Continue reading.....

Fri, 05 Sep 2025 12:00:48 GMT

Which nationalities have featured in First Division but not Premier League? | The Knowledge

Plus: consecutive 3-2 defeats, more capital underachievers and a post-Christmas slump for the agesMail us with your questions and answers“When Reinildo Mandava started for Sunderland in their 3-0 win over West Ham, he became the first Mozambican to play in the Premier League, which has now hosted players from 125 different countries,” noted Owen Collins last week. “That only dates from 1992 though – are there any nationalities that played in the old First Division that haven’t yet been represented in the Premier League?”Mandava’s debut actually takes the number of Premier League nationalities ..

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 09:00:19 GMT

Deadline-day chaos and Middlesbrough lead promotion race – Football Weekly

Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, George Elek and Sanny Rudravajhala to sift through a bonkers deadline day, questionable spending, and the best Championship pick-ups you’ve never heard of.Rate, review, share on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Audioboom, Mixcloud, Acast and Stitcher, and join the conversation on Facebook, Twitter and email.On today’s pod: The panel reviews a hectic end to the transfer window, with Marc Guéhi staying put, Yoane Wissa forcing a move to Newcastle, and Alexander Isak being cast out of Geordie folklore. Chelsea finally sign an attacking wide man (sort of) in ..

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:06:27 GMT

Football Daily | Premier League clubs splash the cash – but are any of them any good?

Sign up now! Sign up now! Sign up now? Sign up now!Over the last few months, Premier League clubs have been responsible for roughly £904984bn of spending, an act of such profound, altruistic love that even the stadia are in tiers. Nevertheless, the question begs: are any of them actually any good? Liverpool won last season’s title conceding more goals than every champion since 2013 – issues they are understandably keen to address. As such, they have cunningly replaced two full-backs who can’t defend with two other full-backs who can’t defend at a cost of £59.5m, and so far this season, they’ve..

Mon, 01 Sep 2025 15:06:46 GMT

📰 The Guardian Latest Football News > 54 Article